Loon Festival at Walker Lake

The seventh annual Walker Lake Loon Festival is scheduled for Walker Lake, near Hawthorne, on Saturday.

That unique festival is being jointly sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management, the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce, the Nevada Commission on Tourism, the Nevada Division of Wildlife and the Walker Lake Working Group.

More than 1,000 loons use Walker Lake as an important stop on their migrations in the spring and fall of each year. Although virtually unknown to bird experts until several years ago, the concentration of loons at Walker Lake is the largest of any on an inland lake in all of North America.

There will be a number of free, guided barge/boat tours leaving from Sportsmen's Beach from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. to view the lake's bird life.

For information, call (775) 945-5674, (775) 945-3244 or the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce at (775) 945-5896 during business hours.